The Holy Communion: 


A Sense of Gnworthiness no Ground for Meeping back from ft. 


SERMON, 
PREACHED IN ST. PAUL’S CHAPEL, NEW YORK, 


The First Sunday after piphany, 


JAN. lirs, 1857, anp JAN. 10rn, 1858. 


BY THE 


REV. MORGAN DIY, 


AN ASSISTANT MINISTER IN TRINITY PARISH. 


NEW YORK: 
DANIEL DANA, Jr. 881 BROADWAY. 
1859. 


This Discourse, written to meet a special case, and after- 
wards repeated by request, is now published in consequence 
of the often expressed wish of many devout persons of our 
congregation, who thought that what had helped to clear 
their own views, might. be, under the Divine blessing, serv- 
iceable to others in the like uncertainty. 

The Lord vouchsafe to all who draw nigh unto His Altar, 
so to be fed: with His most precious Body and Blood, wnile 


on earth, that they be with Him evermore in Heaven. 


THE HOLY COMMUNION: 


A SENSE OF UNWORTHINESS NO GROUND FOR 
KEEPING BACK FROM IT. 


“Whoso eateth my Flesh and drinketh my Blood hath 
eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day.” — 
St. John, vi, 53. é 
= * And ye will not come to me, that ye might have life.” — 

v. 40. 


Ir is a subject of constant grief to those who 
have at heart the interests of the Church of God, 
that. the proportion of communicants among her 
baptized members is so small. Of the multitudes 
made hers by the washing of water and the 
Spirit, only some handfuls come to seek at her 
altars the bread of everlasting life. The causes 
which keep men away from the table of the Lord, 
are, no doubt, manifold and diverse. I shall not 
attempt to scan the motives of individuals, nor 
yet to decide how far they may be excusable in 


4 THE HOLY COMMUNION. 


their unhappy position. But if among those 
causes one may be found which grows out of a 
mere misunderstanding; if among those stum- 
bling-blocks there be one capable of removal by 
the method of simple explanation, we are con- 
strained to attempt the clearing up of such a 
difficulty, not only by considerations of duty, but 
by the hope of immediate results in good. 
Every clergyman knows that such a cause does 
exist, and that many conscientious, moral, and 
even religious persons are kept thereby, year 
after year, at a distance from the table of the 
Lord. There are those who would come at once, 
if persuaded that they were worthy; who so re- 
gard the Lord’s Supper as to think that they 
must have advanced considerably in spirituality 
before they can hope to be admitted there. To 
this one point your attention is now called. 
Shall any one keep back from the table of the 
Lord because he does not think himself good 
enough to come? Shall he wait until he is good 
enough? ‘To consider these questions, and to de- 
cide them on the general principles of our holy 
faith, is the object of the following remarks. 


I propose for your reflections these two inqul- 


| 


THE HOLY COMMUNION. a) 


ries:—I. What is the Holy Communion, practi- 


cally considered? If. What qualifications are 
required in those who come to it? 


I. What, then, is the Holy Communion, prac- 


tically considered? I say, practically considered ; 


not theologically. There is no intention of en- 
tering into any of the deeper and most mysteri- 
ous questions which open before the thoughtful 


gaze of the advanced Christian, as he contem- 
plates this august and dread sacrament. But, as 


a first question, as a general inquiry, What is the 


Holy Communion? What is it—not to the 


saint in his retirement, not to the devout recluse 
in his nearer walk with Gop, not to the priest 
who tremblingly handles the sacred things, not 
to the angels who gaze into these mysteries with 
the wish to sound their sacred depths; not to any 
of these,—but to the world at large, to the great 
family of man, to the busy, hard-working classes ? 
What is the Holy Communion to the sinful and 


the suffermg? What is it to us all? 


Before answering, let me first refer to a widely 
prevailing error. Many think, or act as if they 
thought, that this Holy Sacrament is a kind of 
badge of distinction; a symbol which designates 


6 ‘THE HOLY COMMUNION. 


those who receive it as more spiritual than others. 
It is the privilege of a class. They who this 
morning shall remain behind when the bulk of 
the congregation is gone, and who shall kneel at 
the altar, are better than the rest, more ad- 
vanced in piety, more spiritual: and in the re- 
ception of the communion they manifest that 
already existing superiority before a_ sinful 
world. And until the rest, who go away, have 
become as good as those who stay behind, they 
should continue to absent themselves and would 
be playing the hypocrite if they were to remain 
and communicate. 

I would state this as plainly as possible, that 
you may see how numbers of persons think of 
the sacrament and of the position and qualifica- 
tions of communicants. I state the view in order 
to denounce it. To this wretched idea of the 
communion, as a badge of distinction and a sign 
of an existing superiority in holiness, we owe it 
in great part.that our altars are so thinly attend- 
ed, I had almost said, so comparatively deserted. — 
And if there be any language suited to describe 
my horror at such an idea, that language I 


should desire to appropriate and apply. Let us 


THE HOLY COMMUNION. . 7 


banish that notion forever from our thoughts. 
Let us drive it forth from the Church, into that 
outer darkness fit for all that wars against souls _ 
and thwarts the progress of Christ’s kingdom. 
What, then, is the Holy Communion? We 
reply, in the language of our Prayer Book, that 
it 1s a sacrament generally necessary to salva- 
tion. “Necessary to Satvarion.” Brethren, 
these are not the words of the preacher, but the 
words of your Prayer Book. The Church has 
authority for saying that without the two sacra- 
ments, men cannot (ordinarily) be saved. Our 
Lord declared, with reference to baptism: “ Ex- 
cept a man be born of water and of the Spirit, 
he cannot enter into the Kingdom of God.” 
And of the Holy Communion He said: ‘“ Except 
ye eat the Flesh of the Son of Man and drink his 
Blood, ye have no life in you.” Unwelcome 
truths, no doubt, to many; and truths which no 
man could venture, on his own responsibility, to 
declare; but truths notwithstanding, because ut- 
tered by Him who knoweth all things, and who 
styled himself the Way, the Truth, and the Life. 
But why is the reception of the Holy Com- 
munion necessary to salvation? For this simple 


8 THE HOLY COMMUNION. 


and sufficient reason: that it-is the appointed 
way of coming to Christ. He who will not come 
to the Communion does not come to Christ in 
the way of Christ’s own appointment. And un- 
less one come to Christ for salvation, how can he 
be saved at all? 

These statements require explanation. 

The great mystery of the Gospel is thus ex- 
pressed in Holy Scripture: that the Worp was 
made Fresu. The great wonder was this: that 
the Son of Gop became man; took our nature 
upon Him; was grafted into our stock; entered 


into the great human family. The blessing of ~~ 


the Gospel dispensation was, that Gop and man — 
were thus brought together, that the gulph be- 
twixt the infinite and the finite was spanned, 
that a Communion was established between hea- 
ven and earth. Why was this done? For an 
obvious reason. Gop became man, that man 
might come to Him without fear; and see Him, 
and touch Him, and know His glory and His 
mercy, and be and abide in His society. 

The holy Evangelists and Apostles are most 
earnest in their elucidation of this mystery. 
None more so than St. John, who says :—“ That 


THE HOLY COMMUNION. | 9 


which was from the beginning, which we have 
heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which 
we have looked upon, and our hands have 
handled, of the word of life..... that which 
we have seen and heard, declare we unto you.” 
This it was which called forth all his glowing 
eloquence, and all his ardent thankfulness, and 
all his rapturous praise ; that his Creator should 
have condescended to become a man like him- 
self; that He had submitted himself not only to 
the knowledge and observation of mortals, but 
to the vision and contact of their material or- 
gans; that they had seen Him, and touched Him, 
and handled Him. In this lay the wonder of 
the Gospel. It was the establishing a Hory 
Communion between men and Gop. And to 
that end, Gop took a Body and Blood, and Flesh 
and Bones such as we have, and in them He 
came and dwelt among His people. This mys- 
tery we confess as that of the Incarnation. 

It was through personal intercourse with 
Jesus. Christ, that. His influence was felt. For 
all who sought relief from Him, the first and 
necessary step, was to go where He was Bodily 


Present. When this had been done, all blessings 


1* 


10 THE HOLY COMMUNION. 


followed. The sick were healed, the lame walk- 
ed, the lepers were cleansed, the dead were 
raised, sinners received pardon. But before 
these effects followed, the Bodily Communion 
must be established. He might, by His Divine — 
Power, have worked His miracles over all the 
earth, but He limited them to Judea. He 
healed those who came to Him, who spoke to 
Him, who looked into His loving eyes, who laid 
hold of His garment, who caught His hand. It— 
was the physical union, the material touch, the 
spoken voice, the outward visible sign and ges- 
ture, by which all these marvels came to pass. 
I conclude, that the life of the Son of Man on 
earth was a Hoty Communion between himself 
and mortals; and that the establishment of that 
Holy Communion was His appointed. way of 
giving them spiritual life, pardon and salvation. 
Let us now apply this to our own circum- 
stances. ; r 
Does this Holy Communion at present exist ? 
Has it existed since the Lord’s departure from 
this earth? It has existed: it does. Although 
He is separated from us in the Flesh, and al- 
though our eyes can no longer behold Him, nor 


THE HOLY COMMUNION. Vi 


our hands handle Him, yet doth the communion 
between Him and His people still remain. As 
real as ever, it is maintained by the instrumen- 
tality of that Sacrament, the name of which an- 
nounces the special end secured thereby. 

To prove this, two things are necessary: Ist, 
To show that Christ continues to exist in His 
Human Nature, just as truly, really, and com- 
pletely a man, as when He was on the earth. 
2dly, To show that we have the means and op- 
portunity of-access to Him in that Human Na- 
ture, just as really as if we had lived in Judea in 
the days of His Incarnation. We claim both of 
these points as the constant doctrine of our 
Church. 

As to the Ist, no words of mine could express 
it so well as do those of the 4th of our Articles 
of Religion. ‘Christ did truly rise again from 
death, and took again His Body, with Flesh, 
Bones, and all things appertaining to the perfec- 
tion of man’s nature; wherewith He ascended 
into heaven, and there sitteth, until He return 
to judge all men at the Last Day.” Nothing 
could be plainer than this. The Son of Mary is 
in heaven in the very same flesh which He took 


12 THE HOLY COMMUNION. 


of her substance, and in which He worked out 
our salvation. So says the 4th Article. 

The second point follows logically upon the 
first. But let me quote St. Paul. In 1 Cor. x. 16, 
he asks these questions: “The cup of blessing 
which we bless, is it not the Communion of the 
Blood of Christ? the bread which we break, is it 
not the communion of the Body of Christ?” We — 
have seen that Christ in his Body, Flesh, Blood, — 
in all things appertaining to His human nature, 
is at this moment in heaven. But St. Paul 
affirms, by implication, in his queries, that in the 
Lord’s Supper we are brought into Communion: 
with Christ as man, and are made partakers of 
His Body and Blood. Again, our Lord himself 
announces, in the words of the text, and gener- — 
ally throughout that chapter from which they 
are taken, that, “Except we eat His Flesh and 
drink His Blood, we have no life in us; that His 
Flesh is meat indeed, and His Blood drink in- 
deed; that whosoever eateth His Flesh and 
drinketh His Blood hath eternal life, and shall 
be raised among the just at the last day.” Now, 
brethren, either these words have no relation to 
us and our times, or else they imply some means 


THE HOLY COMMUNION. tint 


whereby Christ in that Flesh and that Blood is 
now accessible to us. What the instrumentality 
is, | claim to have already shown by the words 
of St. Paul. It is also declared by our Lord 
himself: “Take, eat, ru1s is my Bopy. Drink 
ye all of this, for ru1s is my Broop.” It is fur- 
ther declared by the language of our own Com- 
munion Office, in which the people are warned 
beforehand, as ye yourselves were last Sunday, — 
that Almighty Gop hath given His Son, our Sa- 
viour Jesus Christ, not only to die for us, but 
also to be our spiritual food and sustenance IN 
the holy sacrament of the Lord's Supper ; 10 which 
we pray so to eat the Flesh of the Son of man, 
and to drink His Blood, that our sinful bodies 
may be made clean by His Body, and our souls 
washed through His most precious Blood; and 
in which we give thanks after receiving, for that 
we have been fed with the most precious Body 
-and Blood of God’s dear Son. The whole tenor 
of the Eucharistic Office shows a deep conviction 
of the double fact which we have stated: 1st. 
That Christ continues to exist in His human na- 
ture, just as truly, really, and completely a man, 
as when He was on this earth; and, 2d. That 


14 THE HOLY COMMUNION. 


we have a mode of access to Him in that sacra- 


ment, just as real as we should have had if we 
had been His contemporaries in Judea. Remem- 
ber, brethren, I say just as veal a mode of access. 
I entirely disclaim the thought that it is in the 
same way. ‘The access is a spiritual and a mys- 
tical one. But it is no whit less real than that 
of those who walked beside Him, and saw and 


touched Him, and dwelt beneath the same roof | 


with Him, and sat down with Him at the same 
table. 
The general conclusion from what has now 


been said is this: that to come to the Lord’s. — 


Supper is simply to come to Jesus Christ; to 
come to Him in the way of His appointment; to 
come to Him in the way especially arranged for 


us by Himself, in view of His departure from the 


earth and ascension to heaven. It is this Holy 
and Blessed Communion with our Saviour which 
has been perverted and changed into a badge of 
distinction among brother Christians and a sign 
of superiority. | 

IL. The second part of our subject remains to 
be considered: What are the qualifications re- 
quired in him who would approach the table of the 


] 


THE HOLY COMMUNION. 15 


Lord? I reply simply those which were re- 
quired to approach His Person when He dwelt 
in Judea; simply those which are required to ap- 
proach His Person when we must give in our ac- 
count at the Last Day. 

Who then were fitted for His company and 
His personal, visible communion when He was 
on the earth? Regarded in themselves, none. 
But was their unfitness, was their unworthiness, 
a cause for their keeping away from Him? Why, 
brethren, what idea could be more monstrous ? 
What more effectual to prevent the salvation of 
souls? And it is my firm conviction, that this 
notion has been suggested and fostered by Satan 
himself, as a sure way of keeping men from 
their Saviour. It was not the world that loved 
Him first; but He that loved the world. He 
came to a race sunk in trespasses and sins. He 
came announcing that His mission was not to the 
Just, but to sinners. Suppose that any one of 
those who needed Him most, had kept away from 
Him through a feeling of unworthiness. What 
mistake could have been more fatal? their need 
of His help was their strongest claim on His fa- 
vorable notice. They all understood this. Every- 


16 THE HOLY COMMUNION. 


body understood this. No one who looked at 
Christ one instant could fail to see it at a glance. 
And what was the consequence? Why, that 
they all flocked to Him at once. They came 
just as they were; in their sins, in their sickness, 
in their unutterable perplexities, discouragements, 
and sorrows. The lame made shift to crawl to- 
wards Him; the blind strained their sightless 
balls in the direction where they knew that there 
was light to be had for the asking; the foul leper 
perceived that he, the very outcast from among 
men and the refuse of the earth, could go to that 
One without fear of arepulse. Their infirmities, — 
so far from keeping them away, were the certain 
passport to His presence. a 
Such were the Saviour’s actions. His teach- 
ings corresponded. The parable of the prodigal 
son displayed the same principles. The profli- 
gate was in a far country, naked, degraded, mis- 
erable; a feeder of swine, a victim of harlots, a 
beggar and an outcast. In that condition he be- 
thought him of his father’s house. What if he 
had waited there until ready to go? The ques-— 
tion 18, how could he have got ready? how | 
would waiting have helped him? He wanted 


| THE HOLY COMMUNION. 17 


j food and raiment and shelter. He thought of 
his father’s house, because the supplies were 
there. He did wisely to go, just as he was, and 
cast himself on the mercy of that father. And 
his expectations, as you know, were not. disap- 
pointed. 

Let us make application of these our Saviour’s 
acts and words. If there be any one here pres- 
ent, who is in doubt about coming to the Com- 
munion, in doubt of his sufficient preparation, in 
doubt of his -possessing the necessary require- 
ments; let him ask himself what he would have 
done, so far as he knows his own heart, if he had 
lived in those days when the Saviour was visibly 
present on the earth. Would he have felt him- 
self free, (knowing the character of that Saviour, 
and having heard the fame of His miracles, and 
His sanctity and benevolence,) would he have 
felt himself free to go at once to Him and pro- 
fess the desire to be His faithful follower? 
Would the consciousness of lingering sin, sorrow- 
ed for and detested, but still within him, have 
appeared an insuperable obstacle to the inter- 
view ? would he have concluded, “I am not fit 
to approach Him, but will go when I have be- 


18 THE HOLY COMMUNION. 


come better, holier, worthier -than I at present 
am 2” Who does not see that this would have 
been to shut himself out from the very place, 
from the very quarter whither he ought to go at 
once? Who does not see, that one must remain 

forever away from Christ, if waiting for those 
~ qualities which Christ alone could give to those 
who sought them from Himself? And who can 
doubt, that in the case of every applicant to 
Him for mercy, Christ, 1f He saw the heart right, 
the repentance sincere, the faith firm, would 
never -have turned away, and never did turn 


away, a single human being because of his defi- . — 


ciencies? Ye who have never yet come to the 
Holy Communion, think rightly of that blessed 
ordinance. It is the Communion with Jesus 
Christ. To come to it is simply to come to Him. 
Perfection is not required in the communicant as 
a condition: it is by that sacrament that he is to 
attain perfection. Deep spirituality is not to 
have been previously attained ; it is in that sacra- 
ment that the spiritual life is to be developed. 
Entire cleanness from sin is not a prerequisite ; 
for it is to the very Saviour of sinners that the 
receiver draws near. But these three things 


THE HOLY COMMUNION. 19 


only are needed of him who would commune: 
A hearty sorrow that he is a sinner; a firm faith 
that Christ can forgive his sins and cleanse from 
all uncleanness; a sincere wish to receive those 
blessings and to lead a godly, righteous, and 
sober life. And these are the conditions on 
which the Holy Communion becomes indeed a 
savor of life. Thus saith the Church :—“ Ye 
who do truly and earnestly repent of your sins, 
and are in love and charity with your neighbors, | 
and intend to lead a new life, following the com- 
mandments of Gop, and walking from henceforth 
in His holy ways, draw near with faith, and 
take this Holy Sacrament to your comfort.” 
This is what the Church requires in communi- 
cants, because this is what the Lord required of 
those who came to Him when he dwelt on the 
earth; a hearty sorrow, an honest intention, a 
firm faith. Without these none may become a 
communicant; without these none may be saved. 
The remarks which have now been made were 
addressed to such as are kept away from the 
Lord’s table through such conscientious scruples 
as are the result of erroneous views. But these 
persons form a comparatively small class. 


20 THE HOLY COMMUNION. 


There is another much larger, that of those 
who are-restrained by the consciousness of ha- 
bitual sins which they are unwilling to break off. 
These persons are no less conscientious in their 
scruples than the others. Their consciences 
make known to them the existence of old, deep- 
seated habits of sin. They love those sins; they 
cannot bring themselves to forsake them; and 
therefore they dare not come to the Lord’s table. 


This is their position. They know it; and the 


Searcher of hearts knows it. Let no one of these 


mock us by professing a reverence for the holy 


table and a dread of profaning the hallowed © 


precincts of the altar. This is the outward pre- 
tence ; the inward causes are, a will not yet subject 


to Christ ; a love of sin; a fear of cutting off in- 


dulgences; a craving after the forbidden fruits 
of this evil and perishing world. If any man 
have such a heart as this, let him, as he values 


his own soul, stay away. But let him also re-_ 


member, that this insincere, unsettled, lukewarm 


state, while it keeps him away from the altar, 


keeps him away no less surely from Christ. 
While he remains in wilful and habitual sin, he 
is not indeed fit for the sacrament. But this is 


THE HOLY COMMUNION. 21 


not all. He is not fit to die. He ought not to 
_lie down this night upon his bed in such a state, 
lest he should awake to the horrors of a lost eter- 
nity. For him, the making ready for the sacra- 
ment is a work no less needful than the making 
ready for the judgment-seat of Christ. If he 
fails to accomplish the former, he will as utterly 
fail in the latter. And if this should be the 
end, and life should close upon such a procras- 
tinator, the Church has no more to do in the 
matter than to utter the prayer that the Lord 


will have mercy on his soul. 


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